Class distinction appeared early on in ancient China.
Class distinction was a matter of birth, not wealth or accomplishment, but the nobility
and royalty were typically more wealthy than anyone else. The wealthy lived in lavish
mansions made of pounded earth and had meat at almost every meal, normally eaten with
rice. They collected taxes from the lower classes, normally paid in kind with farm
products, etc. Peasants lived in underground dwellings and their diet consisted almost
entirely of gruel made from rice or millet. Bronze was a particular distinguishing
point; only the nobility and/or royalty owned it; but they obsessed over it, with many
tools, implements and trinkets made of it as an ostentatious display of wealth. There
was no social ladder, social stratification was
frozen.
Chinese society had long been strongly patriarchal,
with the oldest male in the family acting as head of household and responsible for most
major decisions; however it was also matrilineal, with heritage traced from the mother's
side. Family bonds were extremely important to the ancient Chinese; as it was believed
that ancestors looked after survivors if they were properly venerated. Men held all
political and military authority, and ruled absolutely. During the early Shang dynasty,
some women earned distinction; in fact two Shang Queens had temples erected to their
memories. With the passage of time, however, a woman's only distinction was in relation
to her husband. The former matrilineal society became patrilineal; and a woman could
expect to be honored only in association with her husband.
No comments:
Post a Comment